U10/12Soccer Games

Handbookby Steven McNalley. ©

Points to Consider

•Be aware of physical and mental limitations at this age level.•Keep in mind that this is a community soccer league not a competitve league.•The kids are here to have fun, be with their friends and be active. If they learn some soccer skills along the way, then that’s a bonus.

Choosing games for the U10/12 age group

•This age group can be typified as being fastidious! They only are interested in what they consider to be good and are easily turned off to what they consider to be not worth their time.• Children are competitve and some are more physically aggressive than others in their age group.•The gap in skill level between children of the same age can be remarkable. You will get kids that have played for 4 or so years along side ones who have potentially never kicked a ball before.•Choose games or skills that give lots of touches on the ball.•Choose games that have a competitive element to them.•Avoid complicated descriptions. Instructions should be simple.•Use parents to help set up games.•Start to introduce some drills, just don’t use too many of them in one practice. •Do not spend too long on one game.•Choose games that are fun but also give the children a skill.

Fire Dance Objective: improve ball handling and promote quick feet

•A good warm up skill you can use at the beginning of a practice while you wait for late arrivals.•Have them start with the sole of one foot on top of the ball.•Now have them switch feet, placing the sole of the other foot on top of the ball.•Slowly have them repeat this until they are comfortable with the movements. The point is to do it right first then increase speed.•Once they are comfortable ask them how many they think they can do in 30 seconds. Time them and get them to count how many touches they get in that time period.•Ask them to do it again but try and beat the number they previously got. Of course you can always add a little time so everyone is successful.

Rainbow Roll Objective: improve ball handling and promote quick feet

•A good warm up skill you can use at the beginning of a practice while you wait for late arrivals.•Have them start with the sole of one foot on top of the ball.•Now have them roll the ball with the sole of their foot so the ball moves across their body to the other foot.•The motion should follow from the inside sole of the foot to the outside sole of the foot.•Once the ball has rolled to the other foot they place the sole of that foot on top and repeat the motion back to the other foot.•Slowly have them repeat this until they are comfortable with the movements. The point is to do it right first then increase speed.•Once they are comfortable ask them how many they think they can do in 30 seconds. Time them and get them to count how many touches they get in that time period.•Ask them to do it again but try and beat the number they previously got. Of course you can always add a little time so everyone is successful.

The Box Objective: improve ball handling and promote quick feet

•A good warm up skill you can use at the beginning of a practice while you wait for late arrivals.•Have them start with the ball between their feet.•Now have them tap the side of the ball with the inside of one foot so the ball moves across their body where they repeat the same motion with the other foot.•Tell them to keep their kness bent so they don’t look like a stiff puppet.•Slowly have them repeat this until they are comfortable with the movements. The point is to do it right first then increase speed.•Once they are comfortable ask them how many they think they can do in 30 seconds. Time them and get them to count how many touches they get in that time period.•Ask them to do it again but try and beat the number they previously got. Of course you can always add a little time so everyone is successful.

Rainbow Roll–Box Combo Objective: improve ball handling and promote quick feet

•A good warm up skill you can use at the beginning of a practice while you wait for late arrivals.•Have them start with the sole of the right foot on top of the ball.•Now have them roll the ball with the sole of their foot so the ball moves across their body to the left foot.•The motion should follow from the inside sole of the foot to the outside sole of the foot.•Now have them tap the side of the ball with the inside of the left foot so the ball moves across their body to the right foot. •Once the ball is moving towards the right foot they will use the inside of the right foot to tap the ball back towards the left foot.•Now when the ball reaches the left foot they put their sole of the left foot on top and are ready to do the rainbow portion of the sequence with that foot.•So the sequence would be; Rainbow Roll (right)-Box (left)-Box (right)-Rainbow Roll (left)- Box (right) - Box (left) - Rainbow Roll (right)........•Slowly have them repeat this until they are comfortable with the movements. The point is to do it right first then increase speed.•Once they are comfortable ask them how many combos they think they can do in 30 seconds. Time them and get them to count how many combos they get in that time period.•Ask them to do it again but try and beat the number they previously got. Of course you can always add a little time so everyone is successful.

The Triangle Objective: improve ball handling and promote quick feet

•A good warm up skill you can use at the beginning of a practice while you wait for late arrivals.•Have them start with the ball in front of their body and the sole of the right foot on top of the ball.•Now have them pull the ball back towards them with the sole of the foot. As the ball comes back have them tap the ball with the inside part of the right foot so the ball moves to the left foot. •When the ball comes to the left foot have them use the inside part of that foot to gently pass it in a forward diagonal to the right foot where it is stopped with the sole of that foot to complete the triangle. •Slowly have them repeat this until they are comfortable with the movements. The point is to do it right first then increase speed.•Once they are comfortable ask them how many triangles they think they can do in 1 minute. •Ask them to do it again but try and beat the number they previously got. Of course you can always add a little time so everyone is successful.•Now get them to go the other way starting with the left foot on top of the ball.

Pull back - Push Forward Objective: improve ball handling, dribbling and promote ankle flexibility.

•A good warm up skill you can use at the beginning of a practice while you wait for late arrivals.•Set up two cone lines 15 yards apart.•Have them start at one cone line with the ball in front of them and the sole of the right foot on top of the ball.•Now have them pull the ball back towards them with the sole of their right foot. As it comes back towards them get them to push it forward with the shoelaces of the same foot. •As the ball rolls forward the right foot comes to the ground and they take one step forward with the left before placing the sole of the right foot on top of the ball again to repeat the motion.•Slowly have them repeat this until they are comfortable with the movements. The point is to do it right first then increase speed.•Get them to go between the cone lines using as many pull back-push forward touches as they can. See if they can count the number they get.•Ask them to do it again but try and beat the number they previously got. The good thing about this skill drill is that it is not the one that finishes first that wins but the one that takes the time to do it right.•Once they have the right foot mastered get them to use the other foot.

Variation:•Switch feet after each pull back - push forward sequence.

Inside-Outside forward dribbling Objective: improve ball handling and promote quick feet

•A good warm up skill you can use at the beginning of a practice while you wait for late arrivals.•Set up two cone lines 15 yards apart.•Have them start at one cone line with the ball between their feet.•Now have them gently tap the side of the ball with the inside of one foot so the ball moves diagonally forward across their body. •As the ball moves across their body have them follow it and then get them to quickly cut the ball with the front outside part of the same foot so the ball moves diagonally forward in the other direction.•Get them to quickly follow it again and cut it back the other way with inside of the same foot.•Tell them to start slowly towards the cone line keeping the ball close and getting as many touches as possible.•The point is to do it right first then increase speed.•Once they are comfortable ask them how many touches they can do between the cone lines.•Ask them to do it again but try and beat the number they previously got. The good thing about this skill drill is that it is not the one that finishes first that wins but the one that takes the time to do it right and get the most touches.•Once they have one foot mastered get them to use the other foot.

Inside Switch Outside forward dribbling Objective: improve ball handling and promote quick feet

•A good warm up skill you can use at the beginning of a practice while you wait for late arrivals.•Set up two cone lines 15 yards apart.•Have them start at one cone line with the ball between their feet.•Now have them gently tap the side of the ball with the inside of the right foot so the ball moves diagonally forward across their body. •As the ball moves across their body get them to push the ball with the front outside part of the left foot so the ball keeps moving diagonally forward in the same direction as the original touch.•Get them to quickly follow it again and cut it back the other way with inside of the left foot so the ball moves diagonally forward across their body.•Now as the ball moves across their body get them to push the ball with the front outside part of the right foot so the ball keeps moving diagonally forward in the same direction.•At this point one cycle has been completed and the next cycle begins again with the inside touch of the right foot.•Tell them to start slowly towards the cone line keeping the ball close and getting as many touches as possible.•The point is to do it right first then increase speed.•Once they are comfortable ask them how many touches they can do between the cone lines.•Ask them to do it again but try and beat the number they previously got. The good thing about this skill drill is that it is not the one that finishes first that wins but the one that takes the time to do it right and get the most touches.

see next page for illustration.....

Inside Switch Outside forward dribbling

Mud Monster 2 Objective: Defending, dribbling and passing

•Mark out a 7 X 20 yard rectangle with your cones.•One kid is the Mud Monster and does not have a ball.•The rest of the kids are divided into partners, each pair of partners has a ball.•Everyone starts inside the marked rectangle.•Each pair of kids pass and dribble around inside the rectangle trying to avoid the Mud Monster. •The Mud Monster tries to take the other kids balls away and kick them out of the rectangular area. •Once the Mud Monster kicks a pair’s ball out the kid that made the mistake is stuck and they stand with their feet shoulder width apart calling out “I’m stuck”. Meanwhile their partner will run and collect the ball, come back inside the rectangle and attempt to free their partner by dribbling their ball through the stuck childs legs. Once the ball is dribbled through the legs the partner is free to help again.•If the Mud Monster kicks the ball out again before the partner can free his team-mate they both are stuck for the remainder of the game. •The game ends when everyone is stuck and another round can begin with a new Mud Monster.

Easier Version (for Mud Monster)•Make the area smaller.

Easier Version (for teams)•Make the area larger.

King of the Ring Objective: shielding, dribbling, defending and shooting.This game is an elimination style but the players eliminated are still able to be involved.

•Make an 18 yard square with cones.•Every kid has a ball and starts dribbling around inside the square.•On your command kids will try to kick other players balls out of the square while still protecting their own.•If a players ball is booted out of the square that player leaves the square and stands next to the coach just outside the square.•Eliminated players get sent back into the square by the coach as sharks for a certain length of time. During this time they will try to kick the remaining players balls out of the square. The coach should say loudly “David, Shark in!!”, to let the players inside the square know who is coming in so they can look out for him. When you want the player out say loudly, “David, Shark out!!”. •Other kids can be cannonballs. For example on a command of “Chris, Cannon-ball!!”, Chris would shoot a ball from the outside the square trying to hit a players ball inside the square hard enough that it will bumped out of the square. •Continue playing like this until there are two players left in the ring. When there are two players left have them battle it out without sending Sharks or Cannonballs into the square. •The last remaining player is King or Queen of the ring.

Defend the Castles Objective: defending, dribbling, shooting and working in teams.note: the game is described for two teams but also works quite well for teams of

three–just add another set of castles.

•Divide your kids into two teams.•Set up two 15x7 yard coned areas seperated by 20 to 30 yards.•Now place three to four cones inside each rectangle each with a ball on top (the castles). Have the castles spread evenly in the middle of the rectangle.•In the middle between the rectangle areas place three balls.•Both teams start outside their rectangle. •On your go both teams will run out to get a ball. They will use these balls to shoot at the other teams castles trying to knock them over. Have a parent close to the caslte area so they can collect the fallen castles. •Both shooting and defending has to occur outside the rectangle area. The only time a player is allowed to enter the rectangluar area is to retreive a stuck ball and only at his or her own castle. •The team that can knock all of the other teams castles down first is the winner.

Numbers Objective: Defending, attacking, dribbling and shooting.A game that allows you to create 1v1,2v2,3v3 or XvX situations.

•Place two nets (use pilons for one if you don’t have two), 25-30 yards apart.•Divide your players into two teams. Have them line up on opposite goal lines.•Get both teams to identify which goal they are attacking and which goal they are defending. That way if you do not have different coloured pinnis the teams at least know which goal they are to score on.•Go over to each team and assign each kid a number from 1 to X. Make sure each kid remembers their number. •The coach stays on the half way line with a pile of balls.•The coach then calls out a number and serves in a ball.•Upon hearing the number called out the kids with that number come out and battle for the ball trying to score on the opponents goal while also defending their own goal.•The coach can add more players by calling out more numbers.•Once a goal is scored or the round has gone on too long without a goal (times up) get the kids to return to their starting positions for a new round.

Tiki Taka Objective: passing, receiving, moving to support (the Barca way) and communication.

•Mark out the corners of a 4 yard box with your cones.•In the middle of the 4 yard box mark out with cones the corners of another box measuring around 2-3 feet. This area represents a no pass zone. The area between the inside and outside boxes are passing channels.•Each 4 yard box you set up will have three players and one ball.•Get the three kids to stand on the inside of the 4 yard box each infront of a corner cone so that they form a triangle. Place the ball in front of the kid that forms the apex of the triangle. In other words the ball will be in front of the kid who has two passing options.•The object of the game is to maintain two passing options all the time. This means that the kid who does not get the pass should be moving to the corner which provides the reciever of the pass with a second passing option. •At first the kids will be slow to react and will make mistakes. Place a parent in the inside box to coordinate things. •Have the kids talk to one another so that they are mentally engaged in what they should be doing. Calling out their passes and calling to those who have to move.•For begining players have them do two-touch passes (one touch to receive one touch to pass).•For more advanced players they can try one touch passing.

Tiki Taka Keep Away Objective: defending, passing, receiving and communication.

•Mark out the corners of a 5 yard box with your cones.•Each 5 yard box you set up will have five players and one ball.•Get each of the four kids to stand in the middle of the four sides between the corner cones. The kids now form a diamond shape within the 5 yard square.•The remaining kid is the defender and starts inside the 5 yard box in the middle. •The ball starts with any one of the four diamond players.•The four players now will try to pass the ball around as the defender tries to win the ball back.•The kids can move along their line between their two cones to receive passes or make moves before they pass.•If the defender blocks a pass or takes possession away from one of the players the player that made the mistake switches positions with the defender.•Have the kids talk to one another so that they are mentally engaged in what they should be doing. Calling out their passes and calling to those who have to move to recieve a pass.•For begining players have them do two-touch passes (one touch to receive one touch to pass).•For more advanced players they can try one touch passing. You can also add another defender to make it really challenging.

Changes in direction relay race. Objective: dribbling, changing direction, passing and receiving.•over a length of 15 yards place 4 sets of 4 cones seperated by four feet (see diagram below). Ideally every set would be a different colour. You will now have three racing lanes.•Divide your group into three teams each team will have a ball (get each team to give themselves a name).•Get each team to line up at the starting cone of their racing lane. The first player in the line has the ball.•It is a good idea to get everyone to jog the relay course first so that everyone knows the sequence of turns before you run the competition.•Using the letters from the diagram below each member of the team will dribblle from A to C, C to B, B to D and D to B, from cone B they can pass the ball to the next team member who is waiting at cone A who runs the same sequence. •The first team to have all it’s players through and sitting down wins.•If you have uneven numbers even things up by making the smaller teams run a person twice.

Soccer Tennis Objective: increase ball control.

This game is a good one to play at the begining of a practice while you wait for everyone to arrive.

•Set up a 30 by 15 yard rectangle with your cones. Place a line of cones across the middle to be the net. You should now have two squares 15 by 15 yards. •Divide your players into two teams and have each team go to their side of the court.•The game starts like tennis, with a serve. The serve can be taken by anyone on the team and by any method (it can be thrown over, kicked from the hands, kicked from the ground or, probably the best method, kicked from a cone–like a ball from a golf tee), it just has to make it over the net.•Once the ball has been served the receiving team has to get it back over the net before the ball stops bouncing or skips out of the court. •Let the receiving side use Volleyball type rules before returning the ball over the net. •Points are scored like tennis. You could have 3 games per set and play to the best of three sets.

X v Y Gates Objective: improving individual skills, group skills, passing and defending

•Set up two gates (gate = 2 cones 4 feet apart) 20 yards apart. From the center line between the two gates place two cones, one on either side, 10 yards off the center line (see diagram below). •Divide your players into two teams and have each team go to a cone.•Have one team start as attackers and one as defenders.•You can decide the numbers that will play for each round depending on what you feel the team needs to work on. 1 v 1 for individual skills; 2 v 2 for simple pasing; 3 v 3 for group play situations. Or uneven numbers to work on defending and attacking; 2 v 1, 3 v 2, 4 v 2 .....•Each round starts the same way, with the defenders passing a ball to the attacker.•As soon as the pass is made the attacker(s) will try to dribble the ball through either gate while the defender(s) try to take the ball away and make a successful pass back to their teammates who are waiting at the cone. •Give the attackers a point for dribbling the ball through a gate and give a point to the defenders if they can get a pass back to their team mate.•Switch which team is the attackers after a few rounds.

Diamond Drill Objective: improving group skill, passing, receiving and movement.

•Set up the four points of a diamond 10-15 yards in width with your cones. •Place one player at one point of the diamond and one player at the other point of the diamond opposite to the first point.•Divide the remaining players between the two remaining points of the diamond. You will need at least 2 players at each of these points. Place one ball at each of these points.•Both players with the ball will start at the same time by passing to the single player on the left hand side, adjacent to their starting position.•As soon as they pass that player runs towards the opposite point of the diamond, in the middle of the diamond they will receive a pass back from the single player they intially passed to.•When they receive this pass back they will immediatly pass forward to the player waiting at the point of the diamond that they are running towards.•Once they make this pass they sprint the remaining distance towards the point and wait for their turn to start again.•Wait until both balls have returned to the points before starting another cycle.•They will usaully be confused at first so do a walk through first before you pick up the speed.•By encouraging them to be vocal with one another they will be engaged in the drill. So have them call for passes and encourage one another to go faster.•This drill may sound mundane and boring but believe me once the kids get it flowing nicely they will appreciate it’s worth and they will look like Barca mini!!

see next page for the walk through...

Diamond Drill

Short Pass Long Pass Objective: improving group skill, passing, receiving and movement.

•Set up the three points of an equilateral triangle with each side measuring 5 yards with your cones. •Now using two points from this triangle to act as a straight line (let’s call it the base of the triangle), measure off ten yards from one of the cones. At this point place a cone, this cone will act as the point for another equilateral triangle.•So make another equilateral triangle with each side measuring 5 yards but place the base of the triangle on the opposite side from the first triangle (see diagram below!!).•Place a different coloured cone 3 yards from each of the points of both equilateral triangles (see below).•See diagram below as to where players will be placed. •One cycle goes as follows: X makes a short pass to Y, X moves to cone C to receive a short pass back from Y, X then makes a long pass to Z and sprints to cone E, Z makes a short pass to X who is now at cone E and X passes back to Z to complete one cycle. Z now starts a new cycle by making a short pass to the other point player.•Do a walk through first before they pick up the speed.•By encouraging them to be vocal with one another they will be engaged in the drill. So have them call for passes and encourage one another to go faster.•Once the kids get it flowing nicely they will they will look like Barca mini!!

see next page for the flow of one cycle....

Salom Shooting Objective: dribbling, shooting and goalkeeping

•Set up a line of 4 salom cones (1.5 yards apart) starting 10 yards out and placed in a perpendicular direction to your net. Set up another line of cones on the other side of your net in a similar fashion. •Divide your team between the two sides and have them line up with a ball at the far most salom cone.•Now take one player and place them in goal. •The side where the goalkeeper is located is the starting side.•One cycle goes as follows: the starting player at the salom cones dribbles around the cones, after they clear the last cone they immdeatly shoot on goal (the goal-keeper tries to save and then moves to the line where the dribbler came from). As soon as this first player shoots the opposite salom player starts dribbling around their cones, while this is happening the first dribbler/shooter rounds the net to become the goalkeeper for the new dribbler/shooter. •Cycles can continue at your descretion.•Have them try shooting with both feet by changing which way they enter the salom cones.

see following page for the flow of this drill....

1. start

Midfield Maestro Objective: passing, receiving and movement off the ball.

•Mark out the corners of a 10 by 10 yard box with your cones.•Place one player in the middle of the box and 3 other players in front of 3 corner cones.•Have the two players that are diagonally placed from one another on the corner cones start with a ball. When ever things get a little off always return to the starting point. Two balls will be moving at the same time in this game.•Desribing how this game moves through a rotation with words is somewhat hard as two things are happening at the same time. Therefore study the figure below to get an understanding of the game.•Go slowly at first so the players know what they are to do. •For less experienced players use two-touch passing.•For more experienced players use one-touch passing.•Remember to switch who is in the center position.

World Cup Objective: attacking and defending

•Divide your players into teams of two. •If there are uneven numbers have one player be the goalkeeper, otherwise you or a parent can be the keeper.•The competition starts and re-starts with the goalkeeper kicking the ball out.•Teams will all try to score.•Once a team has scored that team leaves the game and waits to move on to the next round. •Play continues in the round until one team is eliminated.•A new round now begins, following the same format as before.•When you get to the final (two teams remaining), a team has to score two goals to become the overall winner. •If you are worried about kids getting into trouble on the sidelines when they get eliminated, divide them onto the weaker teams.

End Zone Game (with an all time attacker) Objective: fast changing attacking and defending

•Place two lines of cones, parallel to one another, 20-30 yards apart (depending on the number of kids) these are neutral end zones.•Have two kids be neutral players, place each one in their own neutral end zone.•Only the neutral players are allowed in the neutral end zones.•Divide your remaining players into two teams. •If there are uneven numbers have one player be the all time attacker, otherwise you or a parent can be the all time attacker.•The two teams now battle for the ball and try to make a pass to the neutral player to earn a point.•Once a team has passed to a neutral player the neutral player must pass the ball back to the team that earned the point. That team will now try to move the ball to the other neutral player to earn another point. •The all time attacker creates uneven attack numbers and always works for the team that has possession. •You can play to a set number of points to determine the winner.•Don’t forget to rotate the end zone players and the all time attacker. •This is a fast paced game and should be played at a high tempo.

End Zone Game variation Objective: fast changing attacking and defending

•Place two lines of cones, parallel to one another, 20-30 yards apart (depending on the number of kids) these are end zones.•Divide your players into two teams.•Have both teams place a player in each of the end zones.•The two teams now battle for the ball and try to make a pass to their end zone player to earn a point.•When the ball is passed to the end zone player the player who receives the pass now joins his team to launch an attack towards their other end zone player. In addition, the player that pased the ball to the end zone player becomes the new end zone player for that side until he/she is released again.•This is a fast paced game and should be played at a high tempo.•It can be quite tiring, so be mindful of taking water breaks.

6 v 3 (with a central target player) Objective: keeping possession and defending

•Create a 18 yard diameter circle with your cones.•In the middle of the circle create a 2 yard diameter circle with your cones.•Place one kid in the 2 yard circle, they will be the target player.•Now divide your remaining players into two teams, one team (attackers) will have six players, the other team (defenders) will have three players.•If you don’t have exactly these numbers just try to make the attacking team have close to double the number of players of the defending team. •Play begins at any point along the 18 yard circle with the attacking team.•The attacking team earns a point by successfully making a pass to the target player.•Once the attacking team earns a point, play restarts from the edge of the 18 yard circle. •The defending team earns a point by successfully getting the ball and holding possession for 5 seconds, at which time play restarts again from the edge of the 18 yard circle. •You can play to a set number of points to determine the winner.•For a new round rotate the attackers, defenders and target players. •This is a fast paced game and should be played at a high tempo.

Four Goal Game Objective: using width to attack and curing “the swarm”

•Create a 25-30 yard by 7 -10 yard rectangle with your cones.•On opposite ends of the longest sides of the rectangle create two 3 yard goals. You should have four goals in total, two per side. •Divide your players into two teams (this game works best for 4v4).•There are no goalkeepers. •Each team can score on either of the opposition’s goals.•Play begins with the coach rolling a ball into the middle.•Teams play like a regular game but now with the added goal attacking teams will be encouraged to use the width of the playing area to switch the play quickly and exploit a defense that has become bunched up.•Quickly the defenders will learn that by spreading out and covering a person or a zone rather than every player chasing the ball will reduce the number of goals that are conceded. •You can play to a set number of points to determine the winner.

Three Goal Game Objective: using width to attack, curing “the swarm” and improving communication.

•Create a 25-30 yard by 40 yard rectangle with your cones.•On one end of the rectangle create two 2 yard goals. At the other end place your full size net. •Divide your players into two teams. One team has five payers and the other team has four players.•The team with five players has a goalkeeper and will attack the two small goals. The team with four players attacks the big goal. •Play begins with the coach rolling a ball into the middle.•Teams play like a regular game with each team trying to score into their opponents goal(s). •The team with five players should figure out that by switching the play quickly from one side to the other they can exploit a defense that has become bunched up.•Quickly the team of four will learn that they will need to communicate with one another in order to be effective in defence. •You can play to a set number of points to determine the winner.•This game should be noisy, encourage the kids to be always communicating with one another.